


Maple Syruped Sticky Kisses

by bloodredcherries



Series: Season 10 [1]
Category: Everybody Loves Raymond
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2018-09-25 07:25:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9809189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloodredcherries/pseuds/bloodredcherries
Summary: For the first time in a long time for the Barone family, things were looking up.That didn't last long.Join the Barones in the prequel to Something of Some Importance, where we will explore what happened during the four and a half months prior to Frank's hospitalization.





	1. "You're stuck with me for a long time."

"Thank God they're out of here," Debra said to herself as the various Barones dispersed to their various activities. Ally and the boys had gone off to school, Robert and Amy had gone off to work, Frank had left to go to the Lodge, and -- most blissfully -- Marie was going to Atlantic City with Lee for four whole days. She was practically in Heaven at the thought of four whole Marie Barone free days. "How are you feeling?" She asked Ray, who was polishing off what had to be his fifth serving of French toast. "You don't have to eat that, you know," she told him, squeezing his arm. "It's fine if you don't, I won't get mad."

Ray smiled up at her, maple syrup smeared on his face. She bit back a sigh at the sight. "Nah, it tastes good," he insisted, shoveling another bite in his mouth. "You haven't had any?"

She shook her head, stomach recoiling at the thought of eating the meal she'd prepared. She had had a nervous stomach for weeks now, ever since Ray had come home announcing his impending adenoid removal. She had been hoping that -- with the surgery a success -- it would have gone away, but that morning it had been worse than ever. She sat down beside him, taking a dry piece from the serving platter, and took a small bite, hoping that it would go down alright. 

"I have a sour stomach," she told him, not missing his evident look of concern as she leaned over to dab away the syrup with a napkin. "it's alright, honey, it's just nerves."

The bite had gone down alright, so she chanced eating the rest of the toast, watching as Ray's look of concern turned into one of bewildered concern. Ray was often concerned and often bewildered, but it did nothing for her sanity when his two main states of being combined into one. "What?" She asked. 

"Your boobs are bigger," he announced. "I thought I was just imagining things last night, but...they're definitely bigger. Did you get a new bra?"

"No," she answered. "What makes you say that?" Debra honestly didn't understand Ray sometimes. But yet...yesterday he had asked her if it was her time of the month. Which she was incredibly late for. Due to the normal stress of Ray and the Barones coupled with the additional stress that her husband's medical procedure had caused her, the lack of her normal period -- which had been due a week and a half before Ray's doctor's appointment -- had completely slipped her mind. She racked her brain, wondering when she had last had her cycle, eyes growing uncomfortably wide as she realized that she had skipped two of them. "Oh my God," she breathed. The nausea. The crying. Her increased irritability. Her growing breasts. 

"What?" Ray asked, leaning over to give her a sticky kiss on the cheek. "You alright?"

"I'm late," she told him, trying not to hyperventilate. "I'm really really incredibly late, Ray. What are we going to do?"

"What are you late for?" He asked. "I can drive you?"

"Not that late!" She exclaimed. "I think I'm pregnant! I thought that I was nauseous every day because I was stressed out about your surgery," she elaborated. "I thought that I had missed that period because of stress. That I was just becoming more sensitive about your mother's interruptions! I --"

"So?" Ray asked, interrupting her impassioned rant, taking her hand in his. "You can be a little pregnant, I'm not gonna get mad." He reached up and cupped her chin. "Did you think I would be?"

"No," she answered, relaxing somewhat. "Of course I don't think you're going to be mad, you've always wanted more kids." She drew in a deep breath, followed by another one. "I'm just...I'm just really glad you're alive," she told him, eyes filling with tears. "Because if I am pregnant...I need you with me, Ray. I can't do it alone, not with a baby. I can't." She started to cry, sobbing softly, surprised when he wrapped his arms around her.

"You're not going to be," she heard her husband whisper into her ear. "You're stuck with me for a long time." 

She smiled through her tears, leaning her head on his chest. Debra really did love Ray, more than he would ever know. No matter how irritated he could make her. "Thanks, honey," she murmured. "Are my boobs really getting big?"

Ray nodded. "Barnes and Noble have started an expansion," he teased, smirking. "You okay now?" 

"I will be," she promised, snuggling up with him. "You're the sweetest. I should probably go to the pharmacy," she sighed. "You have a prescription waiting, and I need a pregnancy test."

"Why don't we go together?" He suggested. "You don't have to do everything on your own."

"You should be recovering," she protested weakly, not leaving his arms. "You can stay home and rest, 's alright." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, attempting to stop the churning in her stomach by sheer willpower. 

Predictably, the test was positive.

 

***

 

"Wake up," Ray heard Debra insist, directly in his ear, and he rose like a shot, having been woken from a deep sleep. "I have to tell you something," she said, sitting down on the couch beside him, smoothing down her shirt as she did. "You feeling okay?" 

"My throat hurts," he admitted, leaning into her touch as she petted his hair. "But, I'll be alright." He sighed quietly. "What'd you have to tell me?" He really didn't want to get his hopes up about the pregnancy, not until there was concrete proof. "Deb?" He prodded.

"It was positive," she said, and he watched her worry her lip. "The pregnancy test. We're having another baby, Ray." 

Ray wanted to let out a whoop of joy, but he didn't think that he wanted to chance ruining his healing from his traumatic ordeal -- he was never setting foot in Queens Medical Center again -- so he settled for hungrily kissing her, pulling her down on top of him. They were having another baby. He could hardly believe it. 

"I really love you, Deb," he murmured, sore throat completely forgotten as he pressed a line of kisses down her neck, before pulling away to grin at her widely. "You...I really love you." 

"I love you too, Ray," she replied, shifting somewhat. "You're really happy, aren't you?"

"Yeah," he murmured, nuzzling her neck. "We made a baby." He pressed a kiss to Debra's forehead, smirking when she wrapped her arms around him and snuggled into his chest. "No wonder you've been all into me lately." He was a bit afraid that Debra would smack him for that comment, but she just giggled. "You feeling okay?"

"Can we lay like this?" She asked, before nodding. "Yeah, I'm mostly nauseous in the mornings."

"Of course," he said softly, daring to rest his hand on her still flat abdomen. "I'm recovering, aren't I? You're just makin' sure that I rest and behave myself." He snuggled up closer to her. She snorted.

"Yeah, that's what we'll call it." 

 

***

 

"What's with Debra?" Robert asked Ray, confused by his sister-in-law's frequent trips to the bathroom and the green tinge that accompanied her before and often after them. He had come over to watch the game with Ray -- he had taken the day off after the emotionally draining day previous -- but he would leave if Debra was ill. "Does she have the flu?" 

Ray shook his head, lips quirking in a way that Robert could best describe as 'shit eating'. "It's a parasite," he said, snorting. "One of those nine month ones." At the glare Debra directed him -- and after she had settled back down on his younger brother's lap -- said younger brother helpfully clarified. "We made a baby."

Of course they had, Robert thought darkly to himself, though he maintained a poker face. He and Amy were also expecting a child, and he couldn't believe that Ray had purposely overshadowed him. AGAIN. "Following in my footsteps?" He said, forcing himself to affect a light tone. 

"Actually," Debra interjected, taking a sip of her bottle of ginger ale. "Actually, the funny thing is that you technically followed us. I just realized that I was pregnant today, but I have been having symptoms for almost two months," she said, sipping the drink again. "I thought I was just reacting badly to certain situations."

"Symptoms?" Robert asked, furrowing his brow. "You mean that you're throwing up because of the pregnancy?" 

"Yes," Debra said, unwrapping a mint and popping it in her mouth. "Doesn't Amy have morning sickness?" She queried. "In fact now that you mention it, she hasn't mentioned it at all to me."

"That's because she hasn't," he told her. "She's been perfectly fine."

Debra shrugged. "Some women don't get it," she told him. "I wouldn't worry too much." Worry too much? Ha. There was no such thing in Robert's mind.

"Are there other symptoms?" He asked. Debra and Ray exchanged a glance. "What?"

Ray was the one who opened his mouth. "Yeah," he drawled, making the word several more syllables than it had to be. "Like a lot. Haven't you noticed any changes in Amy?"

Robert hadn't -- at least, nothing substantial -- but he refused to let Ray get to him. There was nothing wrong with Amy and Ray was just making him needlessly paranoid. Maybe the morning sickness meant that there was something wrong with Debra, not Amy. 

"Don't worry about it, Robert," Debra said, smiling weakly at him. "I'm sure Amy is fine. Don't let Ray get to you like that." She reached over and squeezed his hand. "I'm excited that our babies will be the same age."

"Thanks, Deb," he said. "Would you like me to leave?"

"No, you can spend time with your brother," she answered. "I know you want to."


	2. At The Expense of The Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Because we weren't?" Ray hissed. "Sometimes things just happen, you know. I mean, you should know. You were a thing that happened."

"How can she sleep through this?" Robert asked, drawing Ray's attention from the sleeping woman beside him to the television, and therefore back to the game and his older brother. Debra had fallen asleep soon after Robert's arrival, and, unfortunately for Ray's column, he was more focused on his newly-not-newly pregnant wife at the expense of the game. 

 

"What d'you mean?" He asked, watching an unbelievably boring play by the Rangers. "There's not even a fight goin' on." He shrugged, tugging Debra closer to him and pressing his chin to the top of her head. "She's had a rough time of it lately," he pointed out. "She deserves a break."

 

Beside him, Debra snuggled into his side, and he gave her a fond look. Honestly, Ray sort of wished that Robert would go home. Yeah, he had promised to watch the game with him, but he kind of wanted to spend the time with Debra more, even though she was sound asleep. He felt sort of ridiculous having to defend her. The previous day had been difficult -- Ray had _almost croaked_ for the love of Pete -- and honestly? As far as Ray was concerned, Debra deserved all the sleep she could get. Baby on the way or not. 

 

"I didn't even know that you were planning on having a baby," Robert continued. "Why didn't you tell me?"

 

"Because we weren't?" Ray hissed. "Sometimes things just _happen_ , you know. I mean, you should know. You were a thing that happened."

 

He knew that Robert's conception was a sore spot, but he hadn't been able to help himself. 

 

"You're comparing my being conceived prior to marriage with your current situation?" He asked, and Ray shook his head. "That's what you were doing, hmm? Just now."

 

"There's a _difference_ ,"  he mumbled. "This isn't some sort of scandalous _thing_ , Robert. We weren't actively _trying_ or anything, but sometimes things just happen."

 

"Things 'just happen'?" Robert mimicked, and Ray felt his hackles rise. "Like you just happened to have sex and happen to get Debra pregnant when you -- "

 

"Enough." Ray said, his tone flat. "Look, I get that you think that Deb an' I probably plotted this on purpose, because it's all about you, but that's not true. An' maybe tonight isn't a good night for us to watch the game."

 

Robert gaped at him.

 

"Yeah," he continued. "I think that I want to just relax with my sugarplum."

 

"Are you kicking me out?" 

 

"Yeah, I think I am."

 

 

***

 

 

"Hey, where'd your brother go?" Debra forced herself to ask, having woken up to an entirely too quiet house. Yeah, the kids had already gone to bed, but Robert had _definitely_ been in the living room with her and Ray when she'd fallen asleep. "Thought you guys were watching the game together?"

 

"He wanted to go home," Ray replied, his tone husky. "Or, rather, I decided he wanted to."

 

"Why did you do that?" She asked, adjusting her position on the couch. "Because I fell asleep?"

 

He shook his head. 

 

"Why, Ray?" She asked, confused. "What happened?" 

 

"I'm just...look, Deb, we got into a bit of a disagreement because of the baby," he said, and she simply listened as he pressed a palm to her abdomen, the pressure from his hand easing her discomfort a bit. "And I don't want him around you if he's gonna be a jackass. That's not good for you or the baby."

 

"You didn't have to..." She said, trailing off. 

 

"You're my wife," he said, cupping her chin in his hands. "We're supposed to be a team, and...let's face it, I kind of suck at that."

 

Their lips met in a gentle kiss, and Debra ran a hand down Ray's chest.

 

"Yeah, you do," she agreed. "But you're getting better."

 


	3. the new york newsday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m sorry about them,” he told her, his tone genuine. “Debra, I wish that I could get them to stop, to act like normal people that have better things to do than spend all their time annoying you, honest. And, I don’t know what’s gotten into Robert lately. He’s acting worse than my mother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for the prompt think luxken27's summer mini challenge 2018

The first reaction that Debra Barone had when she woke up to a blissfully quiet house and feeling more well rested than she had in weeks, was, rather embarrassingly, one of panic. At least, the panic set in after she glanced at the alarm clock on Ray’s bedside table, and saw that the time was  _ 9:35 _ . The kids were meant to be in school over an hour earlier, and Debra feared that the three of them were soundly asleep, having taken advantage of her unintended lay-in to blow off a day’s worth of education. 

 

It hadn’t been Debra’s intention to sleep in, far from it, but after the early morning wake up she had had due to her latest bout of morning sickness, she had been too exhausted to even contemplate getting up when her alarm went off for the kids, and had -- or possibly dreamed having done so -- asked Ray to handle getting them to school. Since she was alone in their bed, she decided to operate on the assumption that Ray had gotten them up and out of the house. 

 

Yawning widely, she crawled out of bed, running a brush through her hair, before slipping her bathrobe on, eying herself appraisingly in the mirror. Okay, so Ray  _ had  _ been right about her growing breasts, she noticed, resting her hand on her abdomen. Not that there was anything there to show the evidence of the pregnancy -- she was just extremely bloated. The nausea seemed to have abated, for the most part. That was a pleasant surprise. 

 

Debra walked downstairs to see that the house was much cleaner than it had been the previous evening, and she smiled softly, pleased that Ray had taken it upon himself to clean up a bit. The note on the table (pointing with an arrow to a portion of his latest article) informed her that he had driven the kids to school and was going to do grocery shopping before he came home. It was a dream come true. 

 

“...and I will be taking some time off from my column in a few months to spend time with my wife and our newborn baby,” Debra read out loud as she skimmed the copy of  _ New York Newsday _ that had been delivered to the house that morning, and that Ray had left open to his daily column, having already left the house to bring the children to school. She read the article again, confused beyond all measure as she processed that it appeared that Raymond was actually planning on taking paternity leave to help her with the children when the baby was born. If it had been April 1st, she would have discounted the announcement as a mere joke, but as it stood, it appeared that Ray genuinely intended to do so. 

 

It had been several months since Debra had honestly bothered to read one of her husband’s columns in its entirety, and she did so from the beginning, surprised to read that what she was certain was supposed to be about the hockey game she had tried to watch with him the night before was essentially a love letter to -- about -- her. Honestly, she was flattered. It wasn’t often that Debra felt truly appreciated by Ray, and she dared to dream that their conversation the night before had had an effect. 

 

She knew better than to expect a change in behavior from anyone in his immediate family, however. She certainly wasn’t delusional. Marie was never going to change, and Debra had accepted that. The others...well, honestly, what  _ could _ she expect from Frank? It wasn’t as if the things he did were particularly offensive to her, they were just generally offensive to the general public, and the polite society in which Debra liked to delude herself into thinking existed. Amy was...look, Debra  _ loved  _ Amy and hated to think bad thoughts about her, but she had to admit that her outlook on Amy had taken a hit when she refused to move out of Frank and Marie’s house with Robert, despite the baby that the two of them were expecting. Debra knew that everyone thought she was insane for living across the street from the elder Barones, but she certainly had never had any desire to raise her family  _ in their house _ . Ray had been starting out as a permanent columnist at  _ Newsday  _ at the time, and she had been destined for three children (two of whom were  _ twins _ ) under the age of three. 

 

She had been desperate. It really  _ had _ seemed like a good idea at the time. 

 

Then, there was Robert. Though no one really seemed to  _ want _ to talk about it, Debra privately questioned whether or not Robert was  _ actually _ on desk duty that terrible day in September. His behavior had always been slightly (no one could say she wasn’t charitable) off, but it had really taken a hit after the attacks. Not that Debra was going to be the one to bring it up. It seemed...tasteless. She knew that Marie’s meltdown would be legendary -- she was getting a headache just thinking about her mother-in-law’s potential reaction to  _ that _ news -- and, well, what difference did it make? Robert was Robert and he was just  _ strange _ . The fact that there may have been an understandable explanation for the strangeness would have been ignored by the Barones, or worse, made a mockery of. She didn’t even know how she would broach the subject. 

 

“So Robert,” she tried, in a whisper, “seen anything you told your mother you didn’t see because you were stationed in  _ Yonkers _ ?” Yonkers wasn’t even a borough. Why Marie had even bought that story, Debra didn’t know. 

 

The truth was that, regardless of what psychological issues had led to Robert’s behavior, his behavior the previous evening (as reported by Ray) had  _ not _ pleased her. And, truthfully, neither did the suddenly-appearing Robert shaped shadow  _ in her kitchen _ . 

 

“Did you want something?” She asked, not bothering to care whether or not he’d heard her dig about Yonkers. “Your brother isn’t home,” she added. “In case you were hoping to apologize to him.”

 

“Why would I need to do that?” Robert asked. “He’s the one who kicked  _ me _ out.”   
  


If looks could kill, the gaze that Debra directed at Robert would have most definitely done so, though she wondered why he persisted in reading her back away signals as ‘ _ absolutely _ , feel free to sit at my table without being invited’ looks. 

 

“Don’t you have something better to do than come over here?” Her tone was pointed, and she picked up the paper and started to read it, rationalizing that  _ anything _ would be better than babysitting Robert. “No?” 

 

“Why are  _ you _ mad at me?” 

 

Debra turned the pages of the paper with unnecessary force, trying not to react in a manner that everyone would live to regret. It seemed that Robert was incapable of either taking a hint or incapable of caring that she  _ wanted _ him to take a hint, which should have been obvious to him given the fact that Debra was intently reading  _ New York Newsday _ . Debra loved Ray dearly, but she assuredly did  _ not _ tend to read the paper he wrote for with the level of interest that she would normally devote to the  _ Times _ . 

 

“I’m  _ tired _ ,” she said flatly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she read, absentmindedly stroking her mostly-flat abdomen. “And maybe I’m a little annoyed at what you said to Ray last night.” A little annoyed was the understatement of the century.  “I don’t appreciate you implying that Raymond and I purposely conceived this child to  _ spite _ you and Amy.”  She bristled at the thought of her child being viewed as some sort of  _ pawn _ that had been conceived solely to  _ compete _ with Robert and Amy. They  _ weren’t _ the only people that existed in the world, amazingly enough. “So, until you apologize for that, I suggest you leave.”

 

The expression on her brother-in-law’s face would have been downright comical if Debra wasn’t so positively unamused by his actions. 

 

“Are you serious?” Robert asked. “You can’t blame me for thinking it! It’s not like Ray doesn’t have a history of  _ stealing my thunder _ . I’m not surprised he got you pregnant -- he probably knew it was the only way to keep himself as Ma’s number one -- “

 

“Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound right now?” She asked, arms crossed. She stood up, tightening the tie of her robe as she crossed the room to the back door, opening it. Robert showed no signs of doing as she had requested, so she had decided to make things as easy as possible for him. “We are a married couple, we have sex,” she explained, as if she was talking to a small child. “Sex can lead to a baby, no matter who else is pregnant at the time.” 

 

“Amy said you never told her that you were planning this,” he said, tone almost accusatory. 

 

“Right,” Debra said. “I forgot that rule of procreation, that it only works if you  _ tell people _ you are going to do it. Grow  _ up _ , Robert.” 

 

“I don’t need to grow u-- _ hi _ , Raymond. What are you doing home?” She looked over in the direction of the door, observing that Ray had indeed arrived home, and she smiled sweetly at Robert, before heading in his direction. There was no  _ way _ that Robert was going to play the innocent act and have Ray fall for it. Debra wouldn’t allow it. 

 

“Hi,” she said, leaning in for a kiss, her smile genuine. “I read your column. It was sweet. Thank you.” She ran a hand down his chest. “Can we talk? Outside?”

 

“Yeah, of course we can,” Ray said to Debra, pulling her into his arms for a moment before he looped his arm around her waist and led her outside, pulling the door slightly to. “You okay, pepperoni?”

 

“Get him out of here,” Debra said. “I’m not in the mood, Ray.”

 

_ It had clearly been too much to hope for, hadn’t it? _ Debra groused inwardly to herself as Ray headed into the house, walking across the yard to the kids’ swing set and sitting down on a swing, feeling somewhat ridiculous as she sat there, clad in her bathrobe and pajamas. All she had wanted while Marie was gone with the ladies from the social group she belonged to at church was a mere four days of solitude. Or, rather, as much solitude as a mother of three could get with Ray as her husband. Instead, Robert, of all people, had decided that in Marie’s absence, he would do as the thorn in Debra’s side. She didn’t appreciate him coming by and persisting on annoying her, not to mention his treatment of Ray mere days after he had had a major outpatient procedure. 

 

To say that Debra was unimpressed was putting it mildly. 

 

“He’s gone,” Debra heard Ray say, as she glanced in his direction. “So, yeah, you can come back in if you want.”

 

“Help me up?” 

 

***

 

“Did you really mean this article?” Debra asked Ray, curling herself against him as he wrapped his arms around her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. He nodded into her hair.

 

“I know that I wasn’t the greatest with the kids when they were younger,” he allowed, because it was definitely the truth. “I know that at the time I really  _ couldn’t _ have taken a sabbatical to help you raise them, that we had to make due with the time I had because we needed the money. I just...it feels right to me, Deb.”

 

“Not just that,” she said, glancing up at him. “It was so sweet, Ray. You wrote about me.”

 

“I write about you all the time, starfish,” he said, cocking a grin at her. “Just...thought that you were more important than the game last night, that’s all.” Ray liked watching Debra blush, and he was pleased as punch when she did so, smiling playfully up at him. “You know I love you, yeah?” 

 

She giggled. “Yeah, Ray, I know. I think all of your readers know, too.” 

 

“What your doctor said yesterday,” he said softly. “It made me realize that this is a  _ huge _ deal, I mean, it’s a baby. I knew that already. But, you’re, like, older now and stuff and I just...I want to make sure that things go okay, alright?”

 

“I’m certainly not going to let myself turn it down,” Debra said, as she ruffled his hair. “What kind of fool would I be?” Ray pressed a kiss to her lips. “I’m just glad that you’re genuinely trying, honey. I just wish everyone else wasn’t also  _ trying _ , in an entirely different use of the word.”

 

“I’m sorry about them,” he told her, his tone genuine. “Debra, I wish that I could get them to stop, to act like normal people that have better things to do than spend all their time annoying you, honest. And, I don’t know what’s gotten into Robert lately. He’s acting worse than my mother.”

 

“I think he’s jealous,” she said. Ray frowned. “I know it doesn’t make sense to you, but, Ray, you know that the second your mother finds out that I’m pregnant, she isn’t going to pay a single bit of attention to Robert and Amy. The entire reason that she encouraged them to even get pregnant in the first place was because our children are getting too old to be smothered by her. She feels unneeded. And I don’t understand why Amy and Robert think they’re going to last long living there with your parents and a newborn in the same house. You know how your father gets around children when they touch his things and interrupt his daily routines of being a general pig? Imagine how much worse that will be when he realizes that the child will never leave?” 

 

Ray snorted. “I don’t think I want to imagine it,” he said. “You really think Robert is jealous of me?”

 

“You think he isn’t?” Debra gazed up at him, curiosity in her eyes. 

 

“I figured he’d stop once he got married,” he admitted. “I didn’t think he would continue.”

 

“Robert will  _ always _ be in competition with you, babe. No matter how stupid it seems.”

 

“I think that’s dumb,” Ray admitted, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s not like we’re both getting the same thing.”


End file.
